Autumn Advances
by LilyGhost
Summary: During a quiet moment together, Stephanie reflects on the past and on the changes she and Ranger have made for their future.


**Apparently getting a little unexpected free time resulted in an unplanned short story. Everything familiar is Janet's. The mistakes are mine alone.**

"Do you think we'd be together now if we'd met sooner?" I asked Ranger. "Like if we went to the same schools growing up or shared a class or two in college? Would we have gone to the movies on Friday nights? Maybe skinny dipped at Point Pleasant during the summer? Would we have even noticed each other - or been friends - at all?"

"What do you think? You were the Burg good girl ..."

" _Nooo_ ... I was the Burg troublemaker. Just ask my mother. If you look at the floor in my parents' kitchen, there's still a three foot by three foot path worn through the linoleum from her pacing as she waited for me to come back from wherever the heck I'd snuck off to."

"Did you experiment with drinks, drugs, or danger? Were you arrested? Spend any time in juvie?"

"No."

His lips twitched. "I rest my case."

I swirled my feet in the semi-cool water. "Maybe so, but you didn't really answer my question."

"I may have wanted us to meet and last, but I wasn't someone you would've stuck with back then. I'm much better now."

I turned my upper body towards him and leaned forward across the dock so I could kiss him. "You definitely are. It's hard to imagine a person being better."

"If I _had_ known you back then, you would've likely had to visit me behind bars because I would have made sure Morelli disappeared for all that shit he wrote about you. Not that he would've ever made it past a hello if I'd been there."

"That was a long time ago."

"It was. Even so, I'd still like to make him go away permanently."

"That's sweet and all," I told him, "but _we_ managed to disappear instead. And I have to say, I think us leaving Trenton was a much wiser decision than making Joe go anywhere."

He circled my shoulders with an arm and used it to draw me close so our bodies would be touching again.

"Because Boston offers the same comforts as Trenton, but is closer to the ocean and is also near hideaways like this one?"

"Yup," I said. "Plus, it's not so far from Jersey to cause my mother to have a stroke."

"That's been the only drawback so far."

I whacked his thigh lightly. "She does mean well ... _sometimes_."

"Not enough of the time in my opinion."

"That's because you love me."

"I do," he said, dropping a kiss on the top of my head.

And I love him ... stupidly so. Which is why I no longer have an apartment in Trenton. It started by Ranger asking me if I'd like to come with him while he personally took care of an employee change at Boston's Rangeman. And we just sort of slowly moved into the building from that weekend on. We went back to Trenton after that initial trip, but I tagged along with him each time he mentioned he was needed up here. Of course ... I started bringing more and more stuff with me, and left the majority of it behind when it was time to go, since it seemed stupid to schlep things back and forth when I knew I'd be back. Then one time I asked if we actually _had_ to leave.

That isn't something you ask a guy - even in a kidding way - who has the desire and resources to hand you whatever you want five seconds after you casually say something about it.

"We can stay or go, Babe," he'd told me at the time. "The location of our home base has always been your call."

So we eventually stayed. For an extra week that particular time. The next time out was three weeks in total. Then our mail magically started showing up, along with a few familiar Rangeman faces. When I saw Ella and Louis standing in the lobby of the Boston building ... it occurred to me that after thirty-plus years ... I, Stephanie Plum, had finally made it out of the Burg. And shock of all shocks, I made the move with a guy I actually love living with and fully intend to marry someday soon.

That mental admission had me flicking my eyes to the bright blue sky currently above us to check for flying pigs, but I didn't spot any ... _today_ or during the days leading up to this one. The move seemed like a good idea because of days much like this one. Fall air can make you do all kinds of crazy things, when the daytime temperature is still warm enough to allow you to plant your ass on the private dock of a place tucked into the Berkshire Mountains. I also like the fact that nights get chilly so I can snuggle up to Ranger during them, knowing I have a built-in _'I'm cold'_ excuse if he questions why I'm horning in on his side of the couch or bed ... not that I've _needed_ an excuse - _then_ or _now_. I still catch a hint of satisfaction tugging at his lips every single time I reach for him.

And that's exactly what I did now. I curled my fingers around his, taking another lungful of fresh air as I watched a red leaf fall from a branch overhead. It barely made a sound as it landed on the water, but it's so quiet and peaceful here, I couldn't help but hear it. If I was a different kind of woman, I may have asked if we really had to leave _this place,_ too, but I kept my mouth shut. I know we'd both go crazy if we had no serious work to do. And no matter how hard I try, I can't picture a Rangeman branch opening up out here. I guess I'll just have to settle for weekend excursions like this one. It's a tough life, but someone's got to live it. And I finally am.

It seems I'm not the only one thinking about us as we sat there sipping wine while soaking up the afternoon sun, doing nothing except enjoying each other with nobody taking our attention away from what got us here.

"Hold onto your glass," Ranger ordered me, spooking a cardinal that had just landed its little red butt nearby.

" _What?_ " I asked, tracking the bird's progress as it flew to a different tree a few feet away.

He didn't answer. He just scooped me up and sat me in his lap, looping his arms around me. His mouth covered mine and I relished the feel of his lips and tongue as he kissed me. I swear our lips made a popping sound when we broke apart.

Even though I felt slightly dazed from that kiss, I still heard every word he said to me. And I know I'll always remember them.

"It was worth it," he said quietly in my ear. "Even though we didn't know each other back then, or if we hadn't met until much later than we did, whatever we had to go through was completely worth it to be where I am with you now."


End file.
